Mastodon Illuminations Album Cover - Ritual dust

Illuminations Album Cover

Painting for the cover of the second album “Illuminations” of the local dungeon synth project Aura Merlin . This second album has more of a new age, melodic ambient vibe with still some solid dungeon synth roots. It’s perfect for daydreaming or pondering the deep knowledge hidden in old illuminated medieval tomes.

The arwork for it was inspired by medieval manuscripts and the illuminations that embellishes their handwritten pages. I did quite a bit of reasearch on the iconography, the colors and the gilding techniques used back in the day to make something that felt authentic.

Illuminated painting of a large I with a heron and some trees with a castle in the background with some gold leaf details
Illuminated painting of a large I with a heron and some trees with a castle in the background with some gold leaf details
Detail of the process of applying gold leaf to th painting
Detail of the process of applying gold leaf to th painting

The artwork was also turned into a full design for a cassette release by Ancient Kings.

Front of the cassette case
Front of the cassette case
Back of the cassette case
Back of the cassette case
Inside of the sleeve
Inside of the sleeve

Last modified on 2024-10-03, published on 2023-03-21